Researching Your Family

Q: How do I find genealogical information about my family from (name of your town)?

A: JRI-Poland provides indices of Polish Jewish records for interested researchers to search and acquire. The organization does not provide specific research services. You should search the JRI-Poland database for your surnames to determine if your ancestors records have been indexed.

If you are a beginner to genealogical research, we advise you to go to our homepage and read all the webpages under "Learn." We also suggest you read the JewishGen FAQ.

If you search for your surname and insert the correct Gubernia or Wojewodztwa, you will see results for your town and nearby towns. To help find the correct Gubernia or Wojewodztwa, JRI-Poland has provided a table listing the Gubernia/Wojewodztwa and the major towns in each. The records in the JRI-Poland database are generally more than 100 years old. For more information about Vital Records in Poland, read the JewishGen Infofile by Warren Blatt.

Obtaining Records Indexed from PSA Projects

Q: Now that the JRI-Poland Order Processing System has been terminated, how do I acquire these records?

A: The following is JRI-Poland's suggested procedure for ordering records directly from the PSA Regional Archives and branches.

Only records with index entries in search results tables with "PSA" in the title of the table should be ordered using this procedure. This table heading also contains the "Fond" and "Archive" where these records can be found. This information will be used to order the records.

Copy the following information for each record of interest or use this Order Form. Please use a separate form for each Archive branch.

Archive Branch and Fond Number

Town

District or Signature Number, if applicable. (All orders for the city of Warsaw records to the Warsaw Archive must include District Number. All orders to the AGAD Archive must include Signature Number.

Year of Record & Type of Record (B=birth, M=marriage, D=death)

AKT Number

Surname and Given Name (if no surname, use father's surname)

Please be sure to transcribe the information exactly as it is shown in the JRI-Poland database or Excel file

Most Archives will request payment by bank (wire) transfer directly to their account

Fees from your bank could be $20 to $60 US

Your copies will be mailed once your payment is received

If you do not hear from the Regional Archives within 30 days, contact PSA Headquarters at ndap@archiwa.gov.pl.

JRI-Poland provides these index entries as a service. We believe these index entries to be mostly accurate. If mistakes in these index entries result in an order not being completely filled, JRI-Poland cannot and will not take responsibility.

Obtaining Records Indexed from LDS Microfilms

Q: I found a vital record index in the JRI-Poland database that does not include "PSA" in the results table heading. How can I acquire this record?

A: Most record indices in search results tables where "PSA" is not found can be found in LDS (Mormon) microfilms. JRI-Poland website contains a list of LDS microfilms for Polish Jewish vital records. This will show the town, the type, and the film number.

The index entry shows the AKT number and many times the LDS Film number. With this information you can order the film and then copy the appropriate record at your nearest LDS Family History Center.

Ordering Records Not Yet Online

Q: I am a qualified contributor for my town's PSA indexing project and have acquired the Excel file of index entries, but these indices are not yet online. Can I order these records?

A: If the data is not yet posted online, but is available on an Excel file, you can still order these records. If you are a qualified contributor for that town and have signed and sent in a JRI-Poland Database Sharing Agreement, then you will use a special form enclosed in the Excel file as a separate worksheet to create and send in your order. Or click here to access an order form.

To find out more about making a qualifying contribution and/or obtaining the form, please contact the Town Leader or Archive Coordinator for your town. The name and email address of the Town Leader and Archive Coordinator can be found in the Your Town section of our website.

Q: Can I order records from the Polish State Archives that have not yet been indexed?

A: As those records have not been indexed and cannot be identified with a year and AKT number, you do not have enough information to order. Only records indexed by a JRI-Poland / PSA indexing project and found in the JRI-Poland online database or by a qualified contributor in an Excel file have been identified and can be ordered.

However, if those records are at a PSA Archive or branch (see Your Town), you can request the Archive to perform research on your behalf. Consult the Archive website for further information. Click here for a list of Archives. Many of them have English language websites. Or, write to the Archive directly. Archive contact information can be found here.

Information Contained in My Record

Q: I would like to know generally what type of information is found on the records beyond what is shown in the indices?

A: The JRI-Poland database contains record indices from four distinct areas that were once a part of Poland - the Russian Pale of Settlement, Russian Poland (also referred to as Congress Poland or the Kingdom of Poland), Austrian Galicia, and Prussian Poland.

Sample formats of records from Russian Poland can be found here. These examples are representative of the information you can expect from ordering a record. These examples are in Polish, but Russian Poland records during the period 1868-1917 were actually written in Russian Cyrillic script.

Galician records were written in either German or Polish and their format can be found here. This is a PDF file of the headings used for Galician records and requires Adobe Acrobat to view (click here to download Adobe Reader). Records before 1877 used various formats and usually contained less information. Starting in 1877, the forms used to record vital events were standardized.

Records for Bialystok and nearby towns formerly in Grodno Gubernia as well as Kremenets, Ukraine were written in Russian and sometimes also Hebrew.
Samples of the heading can be found here.

Payment

Q: What forms of payment are accepted?

A: Each Regional Archive establishes what financial instruments are accepted as payment for record copies. In most cases, Regional Archives only accept direct bank-to-bank (wire) transfers, which in the U.S. cost between $20 and $60 per transaction.

Please do not send any funds until you receive a quote from the Archive explaining the amount to be paid and the method of payment. Do not send any funds in ways not identified by the regional Archive. Ask them first if "your suggested method of payment" is acceptable or will be acceptable with an additional fee (hopefully a fee lower than arranging for a wire transfer).

Translation of Records

Q: How can I get my records translated?

A: JRI-Poland does not provide any translation services. Translation is the responsibility of the researcher.
There are several excellent sources of translation help available to you if you require help reading Polish, Russian, or German language documents.

Surviving records less than 100 years old are held in the Civil Records Offices
(Urzad Stanu Cywilnego) of each town.

For information on the 20th century records available for your town, visit the
Routes to Roots
Foundation website, click on the 'SEARCH DATABASE' button (on the right side)
and enter the town name. Look for the town name in the Repository/City column of
the search results. There are typically links to lists of available births, marriage and death records for the town.

Note, however, the Routes to Roots Foundation database may indicate turn of the
century records that have already been transferred to the appropriate branch of
the Polish State Archives where they can be indexed for the JRI-Poland database.

JRI-Poland is an independent non-profit tax-exempt Organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Under special arrangement, the JRI-Poland web site, mailing list, and database are hosted by JewishGen